Proactive And Insightful Legal Solutions For Your Business
As a business owner, you want to do everything you can to set your company up for success. One key aspect of this is securing proactive, effective solutions when legal issues arise for your Texas business. How such issues are addressed can be the difference between a bright or stormy future for your company.
I am attorney Michael Kerensky. From my Houston office, I help businesses with a wide range of litigation and transactional needs. Let me help you protect your company and its long-term prospects.
Standing Up For Small Businesses In Commercial Disputes
In the past 10 years, I have had more and more opportunities to use my trial skills to represent small businesses versus large corporations in commercial litigation. A sample of that experience includes:
- Antitrust litigation
- Association disputes
- Breaches of fiduciary duty (including those by partners, employees, lawyers or other parties)
- Contractual disputes with third parties
If your business ends up entangled in a complex dispute, I am ready to guide you through every step and tirelessly advocate for your company’s best interests.
Key Insights On Business Law
I find this work fascinating. It is complex and multilayered. Some of the lessons I learned about representing small and medium businesses are:
- Many small businesses wait too long to call an attorney for a consultation. This is generally driven by a cost-containment policy. Many times, waiting to involve an attorney ends up being more expensive than an early consultation when problems start to arise.
- Contracts are difficult to read and understand even for the most sophisticated small business person. When I was in law school learning about contracts and the Uniform Commercial Code, I remember thinking, “How can you do business without knowing these concepts?” A well-written contract is one that minimizes the risk of a dispute breaking out. It must be concise, clear and reflect the true intentions of the parties. If your business partner or supplier has a contract written by a lawyer, you need a lawyer to read that contract before signing it.
- The smaller business sometimes has less bargaining power in a relationship with a large corporation. The large corporation has formal contracts and payment requirements that may or may not be onerous and unfair. A contract is nothing more than an agreed allocation of the risk of the transaction. I enjoy looking at contracts and thinking, “what if this happens under these terms?” It is a vital analysis before signing any contact, no matter how simple the transaction seems to be at the time.
- More and more commercial contracts enter arbitration agreements and waive jury trials. Agreeing to this is a business decision, but I have found that many people in small and medium-sized businesses accept arbitration without really appreciating what they are giving up and the cost of arbitration, which can be prohibitive. It’s a bad day at the office when you realize a contract has been breached, but you don’t have the cash flow to pay for the arbitration process that you agree to without knowing how much it would cost.
- A fiduciary duty is a very high duty that is owed in a business relationship. If you are a fiduciary, you owe the highest level of care, loyalty and fidelity in law. You must put the interests of the person to whom you owe a fiduciary duty above your own at all times. Knowing whether you owe a fiduciary duty to a business partner or customer is crucial to managing risk.
When you choose me to help you with your business law case, I will use the lessons I’ve learned and insights I’ve gained to pursue your unique objectives.
Reach Out Today To Protect Your Business Goals
It is important to not delay in addressing your business’s legal needs. If you have a business law problem or question and want some advice, give me a call at 713-280-3274 or send me an email today. We can discuss how I could help you with litigation or avoid litigation at a reasonable hourly rate and sometimes a contingent fee.